


The Princess And The Tickle Monster

by wickedwitchcraft



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: First Kiss, Kissing, M/M, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Pining, WinterPanther - Freeform, a good issue, and bucky is amazing with them, kids are cute, she's t'challa's daughter, single dad t'challa, single parent, which is an issue for t'challa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 12:05:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14873442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedwitchcraft/pseuds/wickedwitchcraft
Summary: Prompt: I found this prompt or headcanon or whatever you call that goes like this (my friend actually made this prompt/headcanon so credits to her): Single Father!T'Challa is a wealthy and busy businessman. One day his babysitter just dropped his daughter/son off in the middle of an important meeting bc the babysitter has this family emergency to take care of. Bucky (his colleague and crush) sees his panicked state and helps him take care of the child. Said child helps idiots get their heads out of their asses and finally ask each other out.





	The Princess And The Tickle Monster

**Author's Note:**

> I hope i did this at least close enough to the prompt!!! i loved it so much it was so cuuuuuttteee! Thank you for the prompt!!!

T'Challa is in the middle of a presentation when he hears the knock on the glass door. He turns to look, as does everyone else in the conference room and sees his little girl, sitting on his baby sitter’s hip, waving at him, huge beautiful smile on her face. Her baby sitter looks distraught.

“Excuse me a moment. I’m sorry.” T’Challa says to the men who have come a very long way to hear his, and Bucky’s, proposal. He can feel their eyes and judgment on him as he pushed the door open and greets the young girl.

“I am so sorry to do this to you sir. I tried calling but your phone was off and your secretary wouldn’t patch me through because you were in a meeting and I understand that completely but I-“ she cut off, her breath shaking, tears nearly falling from her eyes.

“It’s alright. Just take a breath and tell me what’s wrong. Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, smiling kindly at her and feeling his heart warm as he watched his little one petting her hair. She shook her head violently.

“No I don’t think so. My dad was in an accident and I just really need to get to the hospital.” She said, her tears finally falling as her voice broke. T’Challa had reached out to take his daughter before she had even finished speaking.

“Of course. Go see him. Take my well wishes with you. And Maria. Pleas let me know if there’s anything I can do. Anything at all.” He said, his voice quiet and steady, his hand on her shoulder. She smiled and nodded, wiping her face with a sniffle.

“Thank you so much. I will. I’m sorry again.” She said, giving T’Challa’s daughter’s arm a squeeze before heading to the elevator.

“No need to apologize.” He said, giving her a soft smile and waving her off. The door closed and he turned to look at his daughter.

“Now what am I to do with you, little one?” he said, smiling at her and tickling her side. She giggled and buried her face in his shoulder. T’Challa startled a little when he heard the door open again. Bucky, this man who so recently had been working downstairs in a thankless position, but had been working with T’Challa do to him finding quite a large error in the books, was standing there, a bright smile on his face. That smile was going to get T’Challa into trouble one day, the more he saw of it, the surer he became about that.

“Hello there little Noku! How’s my favorite princess today?” he asked, reaching forward and brushing his knuckles against her cheek. She giggled again and made grabby hands at him. T’Challa’s heart did something he couldn’t quite explain, that feeling only intensifying when Bucky reached out without hesitation and pulled her into his arms, his smile blinding now.

“I’m not a princess. But I am fine.” She said seriously.

“Are you sure you’re not a princess? You’ve got the dress. You’ve got the smile. You live in a biiiiiigggg tall tower.” Bucky said, and lifted her above his head.

“Don’t forget about the hair.” Noku giggled. Bucky dropped her back down, catching her easily.

“Of course. The hair. I can’t believe I forgot the hair! You’ve got it all. Seems like you’re a princess to me kiddo.” He said, fingers digging into her hip and making her laugh into his shoulder again. He chuckled along with her and T’Challa watched, thinking this might actually be the death of him. Bucky turned his attention to his boss and T’Challa tried to reign in any expression he might be making.

“Everything okay?” he asked, Noku had moved on to playing with Bucky’s hair.

“Her baby sitter had a family emergency. She had to go.” T’Challa said, watching Noku’s little fingers attempting to braid the hair she’d pulled from Bucky’s bun. Bucky nodded.

“You need me to watch her while you finish up?” Bucky asked, turning his head to nibble on her arm, making her giggle again. T’Challa swallowed hard.

“This presentation is half yours, if not more. You’d just… leave it to me?” he asked. Bucky shrugged.

“You’re the boss. I was just tryin to help anyway I could. I trust you.” He said, like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t found a huge error and then come up with, an incredibly brilliant solution. He said it like he’d fixed the coke machine in the break room. T’Challa shook his head to clear it and then nodded.

“As long as you’re sure. I could take her up to Shuri if you’re not okay with watching her. It might be awhile.” T’Challa said, worry coming through in his voice. But he wasn’t worried that Bucky couldn’t take care of her, he was worried about what adorableness he’d find when he came to find them after. They’d bonded extremely quickly those two, they’d only met a few times over the last several months. But T’Challa had been asked if Bucky was coming for dinner _several_ times. They got along swimmingly, it made T’Challa so happy his heart nearly ached with it.

“Awww someone doesn’t trust that I can take care of you.” Bucky teased, poking Noku’s belly and starting another round of giggles.

“Baba he can do it. I can braid his hair and everything will be fine.” She said, patting Bucky’s head and tugging on the loose hairs she had pulled out earlier, now a half braided tangle behind Bucky’s ear.

“See, we’ll be fine. She’ll give me a makeover and then I can really make my way up the company line… or whatever that phrase is.” Bucky said, making a face. T’Challa just looked at him. He never knew what to say to him. He was always so carefree. Like nothing got to him. He could be serious, but he never took things too hard if they didn’t work the way they should. T’Challa had never met a more relaxed engineer in his life. He stared so long that Bucky’s face fell.

“Hey. Seriously. I got this.” He said, nodding and reaching out to give T’Challa’s arm a squeeze. T’Challa nodded, Bucky’s smile came back.

“We’ll just go to your office and hang out. Maybe sign some documents we shouldn’t be signing.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Noku and her eyes went wide as she laughed and reached out to touch them. T’Challa finally smiled and nodded again.

“Alright. Just, call Shuri if you need anything.” He said, pointing at Bucky seriously. Bucky nodded and gave him a little salute.

T’Challa watched them heading back to his office and smiled when Noku’s voice carried back to him.

“Can you teach me to do that thing you did with your eyebrows?” Bucky’s infectious laughter filled the air and then they were gone. T’Challa straightened his tie and took a deep breath before heading back into the conference room.

~***~

He hears them before he gets to his office door. His chest if light, the deal had gone through. They’d loved Bucky’s simple but genius way of fixing the issue. T’Challa had planned on walking into his office and offering Bucky a raise. Or to become his business partner, something, anything to show is unending gratitude. And then he’d heard Bucky and his daughter, his little one, the light of his life, talking through the door. And knew that he could never work that closely with Bucky.

“So Sarah, the girl at school with the freckles, she was telling me that sloths were better than red pandas.”

“Oh heck no.”

“I know. So I told her no. That red pandas are the best. For many reasons.”

“ _So many_ good reasons.”

“Mhm. So I told her that they are cuddly, and they are red, and they live up in trees, but they can come down and they can SWIM. When they feel like it, but don’t do it all the time. Just when they wanna.”

“Everyone likes a good swim sometimes.”

“Yeah! And she was telling me that sloths can swim too. And I was confused cuz like, they barely move how can they swim? They’re gonna drown cuz they can’t move fast!”

“Sounds like me after I eat pizza on Saturday night. That’s why you don’t swim right after you eat.”

“Yeah you gotta wait like… forever. And then you can swim when it’s safe.”

“Mhm.”

“So ANYWAY, she kept trying to tell me sloths where better cuz they can do pictures. Like they take pictures or something…” trailed off, sounding confused.

“They take selfies.” Bucky supplied helpfully.

“Yeah that! She’s thinks they’re better just cuz of that. But clearly she’s never seen a red panda get scared and trum- trem- tumble backwards all silly.”

“Tumble. Good word.”

“It was the word of the day on Baba’s calendar last Friday. Words are hard to say sometimes.”

“They really are. Like your mouth doesn’t know how to make the shapes.” Bucky said, and T’Challa could see him nodding in his minds eye.

“Yeah! That’s esactely what it’s like!”

“Exactly.”

“That’s what I said.” Noku said, sounding sheepish.

He heard Bucky chuckle and steeled himself for what he might see when he pushed his office door open. Nothing could have prepared him.

Bucky was laying on the couch along the wall, hands behind his head, feet crossed. And Noku had planted herself right on his stomach. Her chin resting on her hands where they were resting on Bucky’s chest. Bucky’s hair had all been pulled out of the neat bun he’d had it in this morning, and had been braided, quite well, in several spots. He was smiling down at Noku as she babbled about school, nothing but adoration in his eyes. His eyes moved to T’Challa briefly and then back to Noku, he waited for her to pause in her ramblings and looked back at T’Challa pointedly. Noku spun around and laughed happily as he threw herself off of Bucky, he grunted as her knee slammed into something knees should never be slammed into.

He pushed himself off the couch as T’Challa scooped Noku up into his arms.

“Did you have fun little one?” he asked. She nodded enthusiastically, but T’Challa could see the sleep in her eyes.

“Is it nap time?” he asked, rubbing her back as she laid her head on his shoulder. She nodded and didn’t say anything else. She was asleep in seconds. Bucky walked closer and made an ‘aww’ face as he looked at her. T’Challa set her down on the couch and motioned for Bucky to follow him.

They only went as far as the other end of the room. But it was a big room.

“I always forget how easily kids can fall asleep. It takes them seconds. Amazing little things.” He said, looking at Noku for a moment longer before focusing on T’Challa.

“So how’d it go?” he asked, his hands in the pockets of the black jeans that he was using to fake a suit.

“I can’t work with you anymore.” T’Challa said. Bucky stepped back, he looked like he’d been slapped.

“It went that bad huh?” Bucky asked, his cheeks bright red as he stared at his feet.

“What? No. They accepted the deal.” T’Challa said, confused. Bucky looked up, looking as confused as T’Challa felt.

“Then why… can’t you work with me anymore?” he asked, scratching at the back of his neck.

“I- did I say that out loud?” T’Challa asked. He’d clearly had an entire conversation just inside his head, and some of it had slipped out. Bucky laughed through his nose.

“Umm… yeah. Did you not mean to say it out loud?” he asked, his confusion mixing with amusement now.

“No. I did not. I’m sorry.”

“So we can keep working together?” Bucky asked, looking hopeful.

“Yes.”

Bucky smiled.

“And no.”

The smile dropped.

“I’m sorry I’m- I’m really confused right now. So I think you should just say everything you want to say and just get it out. Maybe that’ll clear it up for me.” Bucky said, shrugging and rocking onto the balls of his feet.

“I am not so sure that would help.” T’Challa muttered.

“Give it a try maybe? For me?” Bucky said, flashing that smile that made T’Challa weak in the knees. He sighed and gave it his best shot.

“I think maybe, your skills would be put to better use working with my sister. Your idea was… so simple, and cost effective, and I think that you working with her could be… incredibly beneficial. For the company.” T’Challa tried his best to explain while dancing around the real reason.

“For the company.” Bucky repeated. T’Challa nodded.

“You phrased it awfully funny for it be for the good of the company.” Bucky said, that smile was edging its way back onto his face again.

“Did I?” T’Challa asked, feigning innocence. Bucky nodded, wide eyed.

“Yeah. You said “I can’t work with you anymore”. Like it’s a thing _you’re_ having a problem with. Not like it was a company thing.” Bucky said.

“I’m not good with all the big business lingo, but I know that wasn’t what people usually say when something is ‘for the good of the company.’ So what’s really going? Did I do something wrong?” Bucky asked shyly. T’Challa had never seen him look shy before.

“No. Of course not. In fact. I think the problem is that you’ve done everything right.” T’Challa said, more to himself than to Bucky, but not helping to lessen the confusion. Bucky’s brow furrowed.

“That… that was wildly unhelpful. I am so lost.” He said, his hands falling from his pockets and dropping to his sides. T’Challa laughed, he couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry. I- I don’t think I can be more clear until you accept the job working with Shuri.” T’Challa said, his heart feeling like it was on fire inside his chest. Bucky laughed and shrugged.

“Sure. Why not? Yeah. Okay. I’ll transfer and work under your sister. Is that what you wanted? Everything good now?” Bucky asked, looking a little hurt. T’Challa would have done anything to get that look off his face. But right at that moment he really only wanted to do one thing.

                He strode forward and pulled Bucky close, pressing their lips together gently. Bucky made a small surprised noise and then sighed into the kiss, melting into T’Challa like he was made to be there. Bucky wrapped his arms around T’Challa’s neck and pulled him closer, T’Challa making the surprised noise this time as Bucky deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue slowly into T’Challa mouth. T’Challa sighed and pulled back. Bucky blinked up at him slowly.

                “Okay. So that all makes sense now.” Bucky said, smiling dazedly up at his, former, boss. T’Challa nodded, not sure he could speak if he tried.

                “The internal struggle you must have been dealing with.” Bucky teased, brushing his fingers gently against T’Challa’s hair line.

                “Shut up.” T’Challa said, rolling his eyes at the man who’d come into his life so suddenly and changed everything. Bucky smiled at him, pressing forward and then stopping when a tiny voice rang through the office.

                “So now that you’re finally together. Can we go for ice cream? And can Bucky come over to the house for dinner now please?” Noku asked, watching them from the couch with a smile, her head in her hands.

                “Nokukamiku, have you been spying?” T’Challa said sternly. She nodded and then dropped her head onto the couch, filling the room with giggles. T’Challa looked back to Bucky.

                “My child.” He said, shaking his head. Bucky threw his head back and laughed.

                “Well,” he said, after his laughter had stopped, “you know what the punishment is for espionage don’t you?” Bucky said, looking at Noku over T’Challa’s shoulder. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, her curls bouncing around.

                “I’m afraid it’s _quite_ terrible.” Bucky said, stepping away from T’Challa and walking toward the couch.

“What it is?” She asked, her tone mocking.

“Oh you know. And you don’t like. Not one bit.” Bucky said, his hands forming claws at his sides. Noku gasped on the couch.

“Oh no.” She gasped quietly.

“The tickle monster!” she screamed as Bucky swooped in and began tickling her.

“Oh yes! You’ve brought this on yourself!” he yelled over her high-pitched screams and giggles.

T’Challa watched as he tickled her until there were tears running down her face. And then he watched as Bucky let her get the upper hand and tackle him onto the ground. His screams and giggles not quite as high pitched as Noku’s had been, but they brought the same warmth to T’Challa’s heart all the same.

**Author's Note:**

> P.S. - Nokukamiku is a name i got from a Wakandan name generator online. it's supposed to mean peace. so that's what that means and where i got it. :D


End file.
